December 10th and 11th

Special Guest:

GERALD ALBRIGHT

One of the biggest stars of R&B, contemporary and straight-ahead jazz, Gerald Albright has earned his reputation as a musicians musician.  Born in Los Angeles, he began piano lessons at an early age. Albrights love of music picked up considerably when he was given a saxophone that had belonged to his piano teacher. By the time he enrolled at the University of Redlands, he was already a polished saxophonist. Albright decided to switch to bass guitar after he saw Louis Johnson in concert. A few months after graduating from college, he joined jazz pianist/R&B singer Patrice Rushen, who was in the process of forming her own band.... READ MORE

CONNECT

BUY

READ

Plus: Jonathan Butler - Ask Dave and Bob James -- Heroes

JONATHAN BUTLER

South African singer-songwriter-guitarist Jonathan Butler is tending to his herb garden at his suburban Los Angeles valley home. Growing tomatoes, bell peppers, rosemary, sage and thyme, his new pastime that he says gives him a new sense of heaven is part of a mindset hes cultivated that hes dubbed the season of me.  The musical counterpart to this harvest season in the two-time Grammy nominees life is Living My Dream, a bountiful feast of organically-nurtured contemporary jazz instrumentals and soul-mined R&B vocal cuts  all original songs that he produced and tracked live in the House of Blues studio in Los Angeles.... READ MORE

CONNECT

BUY

READ

BOB JAMES

The career of Bob James is long, varied and continues to evolve at every turn. From his first days in Marshall, Missouri, the music of Bob James has captivated audiences throughout the world. Discovered by Quincy Jones at the Notre Dame Jazz Festival in 1963, James recorded his first solo album, Bold Conceptions, that year for Mercury Records. 58 albums and innumerable awards would follow through five decades. He honed his skills working with Creed Taylor, working on albums for artists like Hank Crawford, Grover Washington, Jr, among others. While with CTI, James found great popular success overseeing significant hits for Paul Simon, Neil Diamond, Maynard Ferguson, and Kenny Loggins.... READ MORE

December 4th and 5th

Special Guest:

PAUL BROWN

Truth B Told, Paul Brown on his new multi-faceted Woodward Avenue Records release is pushing the envelope where few contemporary jazz artists dare to go these days. A decade into his solo career  which began with the 2004 release of Up Front and includes his 2012 Woodward Avenue collection The Funky Joint - the two time Grammy Award winner masterfully sets a high bar for his genre by digging deeper into soul and blues, playing his 1963 Gibson Johnny Smith L-5 edgier and with more abandon - and bringing the freewheeling creative spirit of bands like The Crusaders and Steely Dan into an exciting modern context.... READ MORE

CONNECT

BUY

READ

Plus: Cindy Bradley - Ask Dave and Acoustic Alchemy - Heroes

CINDY BRADLEY

Cindy has impressed thousands of jazz loving adults as well over the years, touring with legendary urban jazz group Pieces of a Dream, performing in NYC with the Sly Geralds Band (bassist for Maceo Parker).

CONNECT

BUY

READ

ACOUSTIC ALCHEMY

Acoustic Alchemy have spent over a quarter century making music and in that time they have not only received critical acclaim for their albums (including three Grammy nominations), but also have built a reputation for being one of the most exciting live bands in the business. For the last decade the band lineup has been made up of Greg Carmichael on nylon guitar, Miles Gilderdale on steel string acoustic and electric guitars, Fred White on keyboards and the powerhouse rhythm section of Greg Grainger on drums and his brother, Gary Grainger on bass.... READ MORE

November 26th and 27th

Special Guest:

BWB: RICK BRAUN, KIRK WHALUM & NORMAN BROWN

You can almost smell the tangy barbecue sauce dripping from the forthcoming third album BWB by chart- topping trio BWB, who throw down like a sweaty garage band at a Memphis backyard house party on their debut for the Artistry Music label arriving April 22. Its the first time the band made up of GRAMMY® winners Norman Brown (guitar, vocals) and Kirk Whalum (saxophone, flute, vocals) and Rick Braun (trumpet, flugelhorn, valve trombone, vocals) cooked up a festive, sticky-fingered feast of ten new contemporary jazz, R&B, soul and funk joints.... READ MORE

CONNECT

BUY

READ

Plus: Down To The Bone - Betcha and Kenny G - Road Story

DOWN TO THE BONE

Down To The Bone is Stuart Wade as producer, writer and mastermind behind the whole groove project, working with other talented musicians and co-writers to bring together a project of good grooves. Set up at the tail end of 1995 when Wade decided to take a track from the soul band he was in at the time, Think Twice, and remix it to give it a rawer and stripped down feel. The result was the Down To The Bone remix of the track Joy Is Free which had great success. Following on from the success of his remix he teamed up with Think Twice keyboard player, Simon Greenaway, to put together a string of songs. This resulted in the first release on a 12 single of Staten Island Groove.... READ MORE

CONNECT

BUY

READ

KENNY G

Kenny G has had one of the most eclectic and dominant careers the music business has ever seen. Hes maintained a high level of creative excellence through decades of unprecedented commercial success by never allowing himself to stay in one place too long. That reputation for musical curiosity stays well intact on his fourteenth studio album Brazilian Nights, set for release on January 27th, 2015 via Concord Records. Ive been in love with bossa nova my whole life, says the saxophonist in the albums liner notes. I think the first song that won me over was Cannonball Adderleys version of Quiet Nights. And more recently Ive been listening (non-stop!... READ MORE

November 19th and 20th

Special Guest:

PAUL TAYLOR

In the first few bars of the title track to his new Peak Records/eOne album, Countdown, contemporary urban jazz hit saxman Paul Taylor, ever the engaging showman, invites his legion of fans into the experience by counting off 5 4 3 2 1. He launches into his incredible third decade as a solo artist with a set thats fuses his trademark jazzy/funk/soul vibe with prominent elements of synthy dance pop/EDM, trancelike neo-soul, electronica, folksy lite rock, reggaeton, even a touch of blues. The albums colorful fusion of grooves and styles was created by the saxophonist and his longtime collaborator, co-writer and producer Dino Esposito.... READ MORE

CONNECT

BUY

READ

Plus: Paul Hardcastle - Betcha and Chuck Loeb - Tune Up

PAUL HARDCASTLE

PAUL HARDCASTLE created the soundtrack to the mid 80s. His iconic track 19 was an international mega hit (getting to number one in 13 countries) and with its hard-hitting lyrics and narrative about the Vietnam War, it captured the mood of a generation and created a sound for the era. During the second half of the 1980s, Paul concentrated his efforts on studio work. He produced records for Ian Du. ry and the Blockheads, Phil Lynot and worked on remixes for a number of artists, including Barry White, D-Train, Five Star, Sinitta, Luther Vandros, and Change amongst others.... READ MORE

CONNECT

BUY

READ

CHUCK LOEB

Grammy nominated guitarist, composer, and producer, Chuck Loeb has had a musical career that spans over four decades, and he is proud to be known as a "renaissance man" in the music world. He is a #1 jazz recording artist; composer of over 250 published songs, network television show themes and scores; a producer of over thirty world-renowned recording artists; as well as an in-demand clinician and educator. With the 2013 release of "Silhouette", his eighteenth solo CD, Loeb has attained the much sought after position as one of the most in demand artists in the world, as well as one with his own recognizable sound.... READ MORE

November 11th and 12th

Special Guest:

RICHARD ELLIOT

When tenor saxophonist Richard Elliot began preparing Summer Madness, his follow-up to 2014s critically acclaimed Lip Service, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. First and foremost, it had to be funky. When I was growing up in the 70s and first learning to play the saxophone, he says, I was mostly attracted to instrumentally based R&B and to jazz that had R&B roots. This record definitely goes down that path, leaning more on the funk side. 
He also knew precisely who he wanted to accompany him on the new music. I wanted to involve my band, Elliot says.... READ MORE

CONNECT

BUY

READ

Plus: Al Green - Absolute Classic and Ask Dave

AL GREEN

Al Green was the first great soul singer of the '70s and arguably the last great Southern soul singer. With his seductive singles for Hi Records in the early '70s, Green bridged the gap between deep soul and smooth Philadelphia soul. He incorporated elements of gospel, interjecting his performances with wild moans and wails, but his records were stylish, boasting immaculate productions that rolled along with a tight beat, sexy backing vocals, and lush strings.... READ MORE

CONNECT

BUY

READ

DAVE KOZ

In the 25 years since the release of his self-titled solo debut album, saxophonist Dave Koz has received nine GRAMMY® nominations, had nine No. 1 albums on Billboard's Current Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, toured the world and been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Reflecting on his extraordinary career, Dave decided to celebrate the milestone with a different kind of retrospective album. "From the beginning, collaborations have been a special source of inspiration to me. I wanted to shine a light on that process and share these recordings, which feature some of my favorite artists," said Dave Koz.... READ MORE

November 5th and 6th

Special Guest:

MARC ANTOINE

Guitarist , composer and producer , Marc Antoine , was born in Paris (France) on the 28th of May 1963. His parents bought him his first guitar when he was 11 years old which quickly became his third arm . Marc has had a guitar in his hands ever since. At age 13, his father saw such rapid progress that he sent him to the conservatory where he would study classical music. By then his mentors were Andres Segovia and John Williams. At 17 hed already won many prizes and started showing an interest in a variety of music genres including jazz, rock , world , pop and more. At the same time he was playing in local bands in Britany (France).... READ MORE

CONNECT

BUY

READ

Plus: Najee - Oops, Ask Dave and Dave's Fave

NAJEE

Two-time Grammy nominated saxophonist and flautist, Najee has made a career following his heart and keen musical intuition by pushing musical boundaries, all of which have made him an international pioneer in the music industry. Having collaborated with everyone in the music business from Prince, Quincy Jones to Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan and Herbie Hancock, Najees technical agility, grace, compositional prowess, unbridled passion and fearless genre bending have made him one of the most sought after musicians of his generation.... READ MORE

CONNECT

BUY

READ

DAVE KOZ

In the 25 years since the release of his self-titled solo debut album, saxophonist Dave Koz has received nine GRAMMY® nominations, had nine No. 1 albums on Billboard's Current Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, toured the world and been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Reflecting on his extraordinary career, Dave decided to celebrate the milestone with a different kind of retrospective album. "From the beginning, collaborations have been a special source of inspiration to me. I wanted to shine a light on that process and share these recordings, which feature some of my favorite artists," said Dave Koz.... READ MORE

This Week On the Dave Koz Radio Show – October 29th and 30th

Special Guest: Michael Lington

Plus: Herbie Hancock – Betcha & Boney James – Tune Up

Michael Lington

Forget what you think you know about Michael Lington. Now that he’s gone mainstream with his career and consciousness shifting new album Soul Appeal, he’s full steam ahead like no one’s ever heard him before, blazing a fresh, innovative road for himself with a freewheeling immersion into the heart of the 60’s and 70’s Memphis Soul vibe. From his 1997 self-titled breakthrough album through 2012’s star-studded Pure, the charismatic saxophonist has wowed and surprised his fans before. But he’s never had more fun, played more loose, solo’d more intensely or improvised this expansively.

All of the beloved saxophonist’s seven previous acclaimed albums, countless hit radio singles and hundreds of awe inspiring live performances over the past 15 years are now simply prelude to the fresh energy and live in the studio excitement he created at Los Angeles’ legendary Sunset Sound with veteran R&B/pop producer Barry Eastmond (Anita Baker, George Benson, Billy Ocean, Yolanda Adams), Engineer Ray Bardani (Luther Vandross, Beyonce, David Sanborn) and a handpicked group of his favorite musicians. These include a core pocket of Freddie Washington (bass) and Teddy Campbell (drums), organist Shedrick Mitchell, guitarists Paul Jackson, Jr., Ray Parker, Jr., Phil Hamilton and percussionist Lenny Castro. Eastmond contributes to the retro sound with Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer and piano.

Soul Appeal features nine vibrant, hip and contemporary yet drenched-in-retro-cool originals (all co-written with Eastmond) and imaginative re-workings of the King Curtis classics “In The Pocket” and a blazing, horn section infused “Memphis Soul Stew.” The latter includes a playful rap by Campbell that approximates the way Curtis introduced each instrument into the mix on the original recording. Soul Appeal also includes two fresh vocal ballads with renowned Grammy nominated vocalists that take everyone back to the days when Sam Cooke and Wilson Pickett reigned: “Gonna Love You Tonight” (featuring Kenny Lattimore) and “Leave Me You” (co-written and sung by Ryan Shaw).

The Eastmond/Lington instrumentals on Soul Appeal begin with the jamming and funky, classic Stax-flavored opening title track, whose swirl of vibrant sax melody, brooding organ and sizzling brass sets the stage for what Lington proudly calls “a different kind of ride.” He calls the infectious and bluesy, easy rolling “Taking Off” “the centerpiece of what we were trying to achieve, the twang of the Memphis vibe,” while as its title promises, “Uptown Groove” finds Lington soaring over organ and Rhodes in a brass fired landscape James Brown could groove in.

The silky and romantic “Manhattan Nights” blends Lington’s torchy sax lead with a weepy lead guitar line and solo by Phil Hamilton that’s reminiscent of the great Steve Cropper’s work. After another emotional and bluesy ballad, “Going Home,” Lington and company swing back up for the jaunty funk-shuffle “Double Down.” Soul Appeal wraps in a gorgeous stripped down, heart on the sleeve place, with the beautiful Eastmond-Lington piano-sax duet “Follow Your Heart.” This was recorded almost as a bonus track after the sessions wrapped and everyone else had gone home.

Many instrumental contemporary jazz artists tout their latest recording as “different” or “something unique” when it’s more or less a variation on their trademark thing. In the case of Soul Appeal, Lington will let two legendary musical voices verify the reality that these sessions don’t just rattle that cage but joyfully transcend it. Lenny Castro, whose thousands of recording credits include Sanborn, The Jacksons, Eric Clapton, George Benson and Elton John, thanked the saxman after the sessions with the words, “My soul is so musically satisfied.”

The other legend paying Lington the ultimate compliment was Steve Perry of Journey, a friend of Eastmond who came to the studio to check out the first session and kept returning because he was so inspired by the recording as it unfolded. He became friends with Lington and regaled the musicians on their lunch breaks, singing Sam Cooke tunes. At one point Perry told the saxophonist, “Thanks for letting me hang out, You helped me get back my emotional compass.”

That’s the perfect term to describe the way Lington’s musical life was changed as a teenager, when his interest in the soul-influenced contemporary jazz by David Sanborn and Grover Washington, Jr. led him down a delightful rabbit hole of discovery into the heart of American soul music. He loved it all, from Jr. Walker and King Curtis to Sam Cooke and Wilson Pickett. Up till that time, he was a straight arrow classical clarinet player playing in the Tivoli Boys Guard, a miniature queens guard and marching band comprised of kids 8-16.

“This was the music that made me want to play the sax, all of that American R&B and instrumental funk becoming part of my soul in my mid-teens,” he says. “I’m not trying to discount any of my other records because I like them all, but my approach here was fresh and very different than anything I had done before. When you enter a space like this, where you’re by design tracking with a live band for the first time instead of building tracks layer by layer, you don’t know what’s going to happen. What made this so magical was that I was there in the trenches with the band for the entire process, working out arrangements and parts as we went along. I wanted to just completely let go and let it flow all the way – which opened me up and liberated me as a player. The result might not be perfect in the conventional sense, but it’s not supposed to be. This record is all about feel and vibe.”

Lington, who became a U.S. citizen in 2008, has performed numerous times for the Danish royal family, including the wedding reception of Crown Prince Frederik, the country’s future king. In addition, the saxophonist have done extended stints as a special guest with many other musical superstars, including Barry Manilow, Bobby Caldwell, Randy Crawford and Michael Bolton. On Bolton’s tour, he played more than 300 shows in over 50 countries. One of its many highlights was performing in London’s famed Royal Albert Hall and also performing and meeting former President Bill Clinton at a special show at the Kuwait embassy.

Lington also manages his own cigar company, Michael Lington Cigars (www.michaellingtoncigars.com), and he recently launched Lington Wines (www.lingtonwine.com), his own boutique line of red and white wines out of Paso Robles on California’s Central Coast. www.michaellington.com

]]>David Sanborn on the Dave Koz Radio Showhttp://davekoz.com/david-sanborn-on-the-dave-koz-radio-show-2016/
Mon, 17 Oct 2016 12:42:56 +0000http://davekoz.com/?p=7219The post David Sanborn on the Dave Koz Radio Show appeared first on Dave Koz.
]]>

On the Show – October 22nd and 23rd

Special Guest: David Sanborn

Plus:
Steely Dan – Ask Dave
Larry Carlton – Career Highlight

David Sanborn

One of the most commercially successful American saxophonists to earn prominence since the 1980s, David Sanborn has released 24 albums, won six Grammy Awards, and has had eight Gold albums and one Platinum album. Having inspired countless other musicians, Dave has worked in many genres which typically blend instrumental pop, R&B and lately, more and more traditional jazz. He continues to be one of the most highly active musicians of his genre, with 2010 tour dates exceeding 150. Considered as a whole, Dave is an artist who pushes the limits and continues to make music that challenges the mind and goes Straight to The Heart.